Writing Contests, Grants & Awards

The Writing Contests, Grants & Awards database includes details about the creative writing contests—including poetry contests, short story competitions, essay contests, awards for novels, and more—that we’ve published in Poets & Writers Magazine during the past year. We carefully review the practices and policies of each contest before including it. Ours is the most trusted resource for legitimate writing contests available anywhere.

Two prizes of $1,000 each and publication by the Cleveland State University Poetry Center are given annually for poetry collections. The First Book Prize is open to poets who have not published a full-...

A prize of $1,000 and publication by the Cleveland State University Poetry Center will be given annually for an essay collection. Wayne Koestenbaum will judge. Using the online submission system, submit...

A prize of $1,000 and publication by Graywolf Press is given annually for a first poetry collection by a poet of African descent. Nikky Finney will judge. Using the online submission system, submit a...

A prize of $1,000 and publication by Carolina Wren Press is given biennially for a first or second poetry collection. Using the online submission system, submit a manuscript of 48 to 72 pages with a $20...